The Gaetano Kanizsa Collection
The collection of psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa has been kept at the Department of Life Sciences since 2012, and before at the Department of Psychology and the Institute of Psychology of the University of Trieste.
The collection contains around 400 drawings reproducing all the perceptual phenomena studied by Kanizsa, such as the famous triangle, illusory surfaces and contours, transparency and amodal completion. Some of these drawings can be seen in the permanent exhibition that has been set up on the second floor of the main building (A) of the University of Trieste in Piazzale Europa 1.
The graphics plates reproducing the perceptual effects served as sketches for publications and also for the explanations that Kanizsa gave to students during his lectures.
In 2023, the collection was expanded following a donation by Professor Michela Spanghero, who donated around 30 drawings and 17 oil paintings.
The collection can be viewed by appointment at the 'Gaetano Kanizsa' Psychology Unit in Via Weiss, 21.
Cataloguing by Paolo Bernardis and Walter Gerbino, with the collaboration of Lorena Perrotti.